After the Tournament
by Lora Kael
Summary: Timeline: The Tournament at Gorlan. The book never tells us exactly what happened after the tournament, but it does hint at it. This is the story of King Oswald's and Prince Duncan's return to Castle Araluen, and Duncan's rise to Prince Regent. It is also the story of the Rangers, who have to deal with the former Commandant, and he is not happy with the turn of events.
1. Chapter 1

**After the tournament**

Disclaimer: Just me playing around in John's world. :) Updates every week until completion.

* * *

The procession moved slowly, but steadily forward, with the large carriage in the middle surrounded by knights and a few green, grey and brown clad Rangers. Crowley had stationed a Ranger on each side of the carriage as well as one to ride ahead and one to stay well behind the rest to ensure no one could sneak up on them. Sure, you would have to be pretty bold to attack a large and well armed party like this, but with Morgarath's supporters still around, Crowley didn't want to take any chances.

Neither did the King or Prince Duncan, which was why the carriage was now well protected by knights known to be loyal to the crown and four Rangers. Four others had been dispatched right after Morgarath's retreat to fight the damage done by Tiller and his men to Duncan's reputation and try and repair it as much as possible in a short time.

Crowley let his eyes wander over the road and the forest next to them. He was well aware that Duncan would most likely be declared Prince Regent once they reached Castle Araluen and settled in again. The King's health had suffered further while being Morgarath's captive and he wouldn't be able to rule the country. That would very soon fall to Duncan. And so knowing this Crowley had sent Halt and the others out on their mission of truth even though Crowley would much rather have had Halt's company on this journey. Still, he had three other Rangers with him and he knew everyone of them were worth their weight in gold.

A movement caught Crowley's eyes up ahead. "Look sharp," he informed the surrounding knights.

They immediately closed in on the carriage while Crowley nudged Cropper with his knees to speed up. The Ranger he had sent ahead was riding back, but Crowley relaxed somewhat when he saw he rode at the standard Ranger's canter. No one is about to attack us then, Crowley thought.

They met about ten meters in front of the rest of the procession and Berwick turned around to ride the same direction as the rest again.

"Well?" Crowley asked.

"I got a visual on Castle Araluen. Everything looks normal, but I didn't spend a lot of time studying it before turning around."

Crowley breathed a silent sigh of relief. Their greatest fear had been that Morgarath and his supporters should somehow have taken the castle.

"I trust no one saw you." It wasn't a question since people usually never saw a Ranger unless the Ranger wanted to be seen. "Anything of interest along the road?"

"Not really," Berwick answered. "It's a pretty boring stretch of road." He grinned at Crowley. "Just like the rest of the trip has been."

Crowley raised an eyebrow at him, but silently agreed. The combination of a larger party and a slow carriage with the King in poor health in it had meant travelling much slower than any of the Rangers were used to. They had all found it a pretty boring experience and had silently hoped that something would happen along the way. Just a small ambush to break the monotony or something. But it had been a decidedly uneventful journey.

Crowley sighed. "How far do you estimate we have left?"

Berwick seemed to consider it for a moment. "Not too far, but the party is slow moving, so it will probably still take a couple of hours. Unless of course, we ride on straight to the castle without any more breaks, then I'd say we could make it in less than an hour and a half."

Crowley glanced at the sky. An hour and a half would mean arriving early in the evening, and they could probably get dinner at the castle. But there was the King to consider and it had been a while since their last break. Waiting two hours would be a long time for the King in his frail state. Crowley sighed again.

"I think you are being too optimistic with the two hours, Berwick. We will need to take a break soon, and we won't be able to get quickly on the road again. I expect the break to take at least an hour before we're back on the road."

"You want me to ride up and take a closer look at the castle in the meantime?"

"That's exactly what I want you to do," Crowley answered. "We'll find a spot to stop and water the horses and get some food. Then hopefully we'll be back on the road after an hour and will meet up with you near Castle Araluen."

Berwick nodded. "I guess it's another round of hard rations for me tonight then." But he said it cheerfully enough and Crowley knew he wasn't really complaining.

"One thing before you ride off; don't enter the castle itself. We don't want Stilson to know we're here before the King arrives. So just observe from the outside for a couple of hours, then fall back, and observe from afar and wait for us to catch up."

"Will do. Oh, and there's a clearing around the next bend. You might use that for your camp. See you later." Berwick nudged his horse to speed up and settled into Ranger's canter again.

Crowley held Cropper back and soon fell into his position next to the carriage again. "Loosen up," he told the knights, who had kept their tight formation around the carriage even when they saw the Rangers were merely talking and didn't look concerned. Crowley was glad they still kept vigilant despite the boring trip.

He slipped in between the larger battle horses until he was right next to the carriage. Duncan looked out.

"Something up, Crowley?"

Crowley shook his head. "No, everything looks clear, but Berwick will keep an eye on the castle just in case."

Duncan smiled with relief. "So we're almost there then? I think my father will appreciate that."

"No doubt, your highness. But it will still take some time for us to reach the castle as we are a slow moving party."

"I could always ride ahead and prepare the castle for my father's return," he suggested.

But Crowley shook his head and the King spoke from his side of the carriage.

"Too dangerous, Duncan. We cannot know for certain that Morgarath does not have people in the castle and the knights and Rangers will have a harder time protecting us if we split up."

Duncan looked as if he was about to protest and say he could protect himself, but the King spoke on.

"I know you are a fine warrior, but in this it is best to listen to the Rangers; they know how to handle situations like this."

Crowley smiled slightly. "Thank you, your majesty. While I can see the appeal of reaching the castle fast it is better that we take a break and continue on the last part of the journey refreshed. We do not want to be tired, sore, and hungry when reaching the castle."

King Oswald leaned forward so he could look out at Crowley. "Will we reached the castle tonight, Ranger Crowley?"

Crowley nodded. "Yes, your majesty. It is still early enough in the day that we can take a break and reach the castle with light to spare. And there is no reason the spend a night out here. We will take a short rest soon and then continue to Castle Araluen."

The King nodded and leaned back again.

"Good. I look forward to returning to my castle."

Duncan made eye contact with Crowley. "Did you send Berwick ahead again?"

Crowley smiled. He liked that Duncan had learned the names of the Rangers and he was pretty sure he had also memorised the names of the knights travelling with them. "Yes, your highness. He will keep an eye on the castle just in case and we will meet up with him just before we make the final stretch to the castle."

"Good. I'll leave you to organise the rest."

Crowley nodded, then held Cropper back so the carriage pushed ahead of him. Then he rode up on its other side.

"So were do we stop?" Despite being the senior Ranger Pritchard had both accepted and insisted on Crowley staying on as the leader of the Rangers. He was quite proud of how far Crowley had come and had great expectations to his future. His and Halt's both.

"There's a clearing around the next bend. It should be the best place for us to make camp."

Pritchard looked ahead. "That's only a couple of hundred meters. Of course, at this pace it will still take a little time to get there." He looked at Crowley. "Do you want me to ride ahead and start setting up a camp?"

Crowley smiled. They had worked together for five years while Crowley was Pritchard's apprentice and knew how they other thought well. "Yes. I don't want to waste too much time, and you're a fine cook, so if you can start a fire and get started on the food preparation, then we can be back on the road again faster."

Pritchard nodded. He fully agreed with that. "No reason for me to hang around any longer then." He grinned at Crowley and then went ahead at full speed.

Well, he always did have a dramatic flair. Crowley looked at the unrest the sudden speed of Pritchard had left in the surrounding knights.

"Ease up, boys. We'll make camp soon and take a rest before reaching Castle Araluen. You two ride ahead and help Pritchard set up camp." He pointed out two knights in front and they both acknowledged the command before speeding up to catch up with Pritchard.

He glanced back, but couldn't see Egon. He hadn't expected to either, but it didn't hurt to check every now and again. Then he nudged Cropper forward to take up the space left by the two knights. Soon they would rest and have food, and then they would get back on the road so they could reach the castle in the early evening.

§

Crowley had to nearly bite his tongue not to yell at the rest and tell them to hurry up. I'm too used to travelling with Rangers; Rangers are efficient, knights are less so. And a frail King even less so. But you didn't yell at your King to hurry up, so he had to impatiently wait for everyone to get ready.

He glanced at the sky. It was still plenty light, but he also knew they would be slow moving and he wanted to reach the castle before sundown. The camp had already taken 1½ hours to settle and break again. Pritchard and Egon had switched positions and that meant Pritchard had ridden back a bit to watch the rear when they had started striking camp. That was almost half an hour ago.

Finally the last knight was seated on his horse and back in formation around the carriage and Crowley could start the procession again. He couldn't wait to be at Araluen and sleep in a good bed. But first they had some cleaning to do.

He smiled tightly to himself and steeled himself for the final leg of their slow journey.

§

"Took you long enough," Berwick said as a way of greeting.

"Yeah, yeah, told you you was being optimistic."

"So was you, it seems."

Crowley sighed. "Yeah. Getting a dozen knights mounted and back into formation takes time. It would have helped if the food had been ready sooner, but even Pritchard can't get food done in such a short amount of time."

"It was good though," Egon commented.

"Rub it in, why don't you?" Berwick made a face at Egon, but then went serious again. "Anyway, I've been watching the castle and even went right up to it to listen to the guards talk and it seems people are aware of some of the things happening at Gorlan, but that they aren't sure what to believe of it. Lots of rumours have made their way here ahead of us. But they know the King is returning, just not when."

Crowley nodded. "That is to be expected. We have not exactly been the fastest moving party in history. Anything that might look like trouble?"

Berwick shook his head. "Not that I could see or hear. Mind you, I have only seen the outside, so I can't be sure nothing is amiss inside, but it seems things are safe enough."

"Well, that's good. In that case I want us all to fall in around the rest of the party so we can arrive together. Let people see the King return surrounded by loyal knights and Rangers."

"Shouldn't be long before Pritchard catch up with us," Egon commented. "You have a plan for how we should spread out?"

Crowley nodded. "You and I take each side, Berwick rides in the back, Pritchard takes point."

Berwick grinned. "I'm sure there will be some very surprised people when they see Pritchard is back."

Crowley grinned back. "Oh, I count on it."

§

The King's party moved at a slow, but steady pace towards the castle across the open land that only had a few trees spread around the large park in front of it. The King's banner flew on top of the wagon clearly marking it from far away and letting everyone at the castle know the King had returned. Because of it there was quite a buzz in the castle and people was flocking to the courtyard to see their King and his men. The fact that he was surrounded by four Rangers had not gone unnoticed either and Commandant Stilson had also hurried to down to the castle doors, worried about what this might mean. He had heard about the renegade Rangers and hoped these wouldn't be any of those. Just one of them could be a lot of trouble for him.

Crowley silently watched the reactions of the castle servants and knights as they rode through the courtyards to the inner one. He saw curiosity, respect, awe and a little fear in most of them, but fear wasn't unusual when it came to the Rangers. And the Rangers generally liked it that way. Their mysticism was all part of the deal when you became a Ranger or at least it was for the real Rangers, not Morgarath's toadies.

As they halted in front of the castle's main doors, the doors flew open to reveal the Queen. She strode down the steps her eyes locked on the wagon. Right behind her Stilson came scurrying.

Well, then, now the fun begins, Crowley thought. Unlike Morgarath's other toadies Stilson actually wore the Ranger's uniform, but somehow that seemed even more offensive than those untrained idiots, who wore flashy clothes. Stilson had received the training, but didn't have any real skill and had only barely passed his exams. Crowley couldn't wait to put him in his place, but reminded himself to be patient.

The knights surrounding the wagon parted to create a pathway from the stairs to the wagon for the Queen. The wagon door opened and there was a gasp of surprise as Duncan exited the wagon. However, he immediately turned around and extended a hand inside to help his father out, only casting a brief glance at his mother, who returned the look.

There was another gasp as the King stepped out of the wagon; he had lost weight and it was obvious that his health was much worse than when he had left Castle Araluen. But he still stood upright and locked gazes with the Queen, who stepped forward to embrace him.

"Husband. It is good to see you back again."

He nodded. "It is good to be back."

The Queen let go of him and looked to Duncan. "Son. It is also good to see you back again."

"Likewise, Mother. I am glad to be home." He embraced her lightly. "But neither of us would be here without the Rangers." As he said it he stepped back and made a gesture towards the four Rangers, who had quietly dismounted and stood along the line of surrounding knights, bow in hand.

The Queen appraised the Rangers. "Yes, we've heard quite a lot of stories, but half of them seem to contradict each other. I shall look forward to hearing your stories." There was no doubt the Queen would listen and if told a lie see through it. She had not been happy with the stories about Duncan and had never truly believed them, because she knew her son was not like that. She looked at the nearest Ranger.

"It seems I have you to thank for the safe return of my husband and son. And I am sure the Commandant is also thankful that you have been protecting your King and prince so well. You may relax and lower you hood." The way she said it made it clear it was not a suggestion.

"Of course, your majesty," Pritchard replied and lifted a hand to push it back.

"You! What are _you_ doing here?!" Stilson was staring at Pritchard. Then he looked at the King. "Your majesty! This man was banned from Araluen for treason. He should be arrested!"

Duncan opened his mouth to speak, but a light pressure on his arm from Oswald caused him to close it again. Oswald was still the King and this was a matter for the King and Regent.

"He is here on my command, Stilson. After all, Ranger Pritchard helped free me from Morgarath's claws, and as it has turned out the accusations of treason were a lie told by Morgarath." He paused to take a breath, and Stilson took that as opportunity to speak.

"But your majesty, surely the rumours cannot be true. Lord Morgarath has long been the knight of the realm and a loyal supporter of yours."

"Morgarath has lied and played us all for fools. He is the one behind the rumours about Duncan's raids, but in reality Duncan was held captive while a look-a-like pretended to be him." The King looked Stilson squarely in the eyes. "Morgarath has hidden himself away in Castle Gorlan, but he will answer for his treason before all the barons in Araluen."

Stilson was still staring at the King and his jaw was moving, but no sound came. Clearly he didn't know what to say without sounding like he didn't believe his King.

The Queen looked at King Oswald and Duncan. "So, it is true then; Morgarath has betrayed us all."

The both nodded.

"Yes, Mother," Duncan replied. "And if it hadn't been for the Rangers learning of his plans to take over the kingdom, we would most likely both have been death by now."

Another gasp rose from the onlookers at that. Several started mumbling and whispering to their neighbours.

Duncan looked at Pritchard. "Ranger Pritchard and the other Rangers dismissed by Morgarath have all been reinstated and will form the core of a reformed Ranger Corps."

At that Stilson bristled, but he was smart enough not to take his ire out on the prince. Instead he turned to Pritchard. "You think you can come back and take over the Corps, Pritchard?" He shook his head. "There were several testimonies to your treasonous behaviour and those will be re-examined. With such a spot on your record you can't simply return and expect to take over."

Pritchard just let Stilson went and actually looked mildly amused by his anger. "Who said I'm taking over anything, Stilson?"

"That would be Commandant Stilson to you," was the court reply.

But Pritchard shook his head. "Sorry, but I won't address anyone as such if they haven't earned it. And as Prince Duncan said the corps will be reformed. I think that means a chance in leadership, too." He smiled sweetly at Stilson, who started sputtering.

"You, you, you will _not_ be the new commandant. There won't _be_ a new commandant."

"Actually, Stilson, there will." Pritchard seemed to be enjoying himself. "The standards have slipped to a shocking level while I have been gone and the King will need properly trained Rangers to protect him and the country." He paused while he watched Stilson get redder by the second. Then he scratched his beard thoughtfully. "But you are right about one thing; I will not be the new commandant."

Stilson seemed about to rant some more, then paused. He hadn't expected those words. Suddenly he remembered there were three other Rangers present and he narrowed his eyes as he looked them over. Unlike Pritchard these other Rangers still had their hoods up, which made it hard to identify them. "So, one of you hope to be the commandant then?"

"Stilson, enough of this," King Oswald said. "I have no desire to stand around the the courtyard all day. I have announcements to make and then you can continue your discussions with the other Rangers."

"Of course, your majesty," Stilson said readily, bowing slightly.

So far, so good. But I can't wait to see his face when I'm announced the new commandant, Crowley thought to himself as he and the other Rangers followed the King, Queen and Prince Duncan into the castle. Stilson, of course, walked as close to the King as he could without offending, but he did cast a calculating glance at Crowley, Berwick and Egon as they went through the doors.

§

The throne room had quickly filled up with nobles, knights and various castle servants not wanting to miss the King's announcements after the King, Queen, Prince Duncan and the Rangers had made their way there, and the King had sat on his throne again. The Rangers all stood to one side with Stilson on the opposite side with his gaze fixed on them. They had all lowered their hoods now and Stilson seemed to be staring at Egon and Berwick the most. Crowley had to fight a smile. It was so typical of Stilson to dismiss him because he was so young.

The knights from the King's party lined the large hall standing at attention and ready should anyone try anything foolish.

The King lifted a hand and his chamberlain knocked his staff into the floor two times to get people to quiet down.

Then the King rose.

"Gentlemen and ladies, knights, Rangers and people of the realm. This is for all of you to hear." The King took a deep breath. "As you are aware there was an attempt on my life some months ago here at Castle Araluen. Lord Morgarath used that to convince me to go to Castle Gorlan, with the pretence that I would be safer there. However, it quickly became apparent that my safety was not his concern and when I demanded that he call for the royal guard he refused and locked me in the tower."

There was a mumbling at those words and the chamberlain knocked his staff again for silence.

"Lord Morgarath showed me his true colours then and these past many years have merely been a ploy to take over the throne. He tried to discredit my son, Prince Duncan, to set himself up as heir to the throne."

The King let his gaze wander over the people in the room. Frail his health might be, but he needed to be strong for this. Then he could rest. "Let it be known to all, that is it only thanks to the loyalty, bravery and cunning of the King's Rangers that the prince and myself stand here today, alive.

"Morgarath threatened to kill Prince Duncan if I did not make him heir and thus he has utterly betrayed the crown and the kingdom. Therefore I hereby strip him of all titles and he will no longer by known as a Lord of Araluen or knight of the realm."

Another round of murmur broke out at those words. The chamberlain had to stomp his staff three times and call out for quiet to get people to quiet down this time.

The King took another deep breath. This was important and he couldn't falter now. "Because of the poor treatment I received at the hands of Morgarath my health has become frail. Therefore I have decided to make Duncan Prince Regent of Araluen. From this day on he will rule the country and set our course."

"All hail the King and Prince," the chamberlain shouted.

"Hail the King! Hail the Prince!" came the shouts from the gathered crowd. Some people started clapping and whistling; Duncan had always been quite popular with the servants and they let their faith in him show now.

Duncan looked both relieved and happy and just a little embarrassed by the reactions, but he took it in in a dignified manner and with a serious expression. He was well aware of the responsibility his father had just put on his shoulders, but they had spend half the journey back talking about this and how to handle it. The other half they had spend on catching up and Oswald apologising for ever believing the lies Morgarath had told about him.

As the King sat back down, Duncan stood. He was the Regent now and needed to show everybody that he had what it took to be one.

"Good people of Araluen. I know that many rumours have circulated about my person, none of them flattering, but know that they are lies spread by Morgarath and his men. Unfortunately, the impersonator have caused much grief in the northern fiefs and have disrupted our treaty with Picta. It will take time to undo that damage, but know that we have already taken the first steps to stop the lies from spreading and stop the attacks on villages in the fiefs; four Rangers have been dispatched as well as couriers to the barons in the affected fiefs.

"Meanwhile Morgarath is being contained in Castle Gorlan by Baron Arald of Redmont Fief until such a time as when he can be put on trial on front of the council of barons."

Duncan had their full attention, but he noticed many cast glances at the Rangers standing to the side with their bows in hand as he mentioned them.

"It has become apparent that Morgarath has worked to undermine and destroy the Ranger Corps in recent years, because of their loyalty to the crown. Because of this few fully trained Rangers remain, but those who do have shown themselves to be truly loyal, skilled and diligent. They will form the core of a reformed Ranger Corps under the leadership of Ranger Crowley."

A sudden sputtering, hacking sound was heard from Stilson's side, which he somehow quickly managed to turn into a cough. But he couldn't hide his outrageousness as he looked across at Crowley, who had now been confirmed as the new Commandant.

Duncan also looked at Crowley. "Commandant Crowley, I have complete faith in your ability to raise the Ranger Corps back up to its full strength."

Crowley bowed to Duncan. "It is a privilege, your highness," he responded.

There was another murmur. Almost no one knew the names of the different Rangers and no one had expected someone as young as Crowley to be announced commandant. They had all thought Crowley must be one of the other three, older Rangers, but some seemed to quickly notice that except for Stilson the other Rangers seemed perfectly fine with this announcement. In fact it looked as if they had expected it and had just been waiting for it to be made official.

Duncan looked around again catching the eyes of the people in the room. A dark haired lady smiled at him as he did so and he had to quickly let his gaze wander on to not get distracted by her sweet smile. "There will be much work to do for all of us, but for now you should all return to your duties. A group of knights, soldiers and archers will be sent to help Baron Arald keeping Castle Gorlan secure, and orders will be sent out to people individually." Duncan sat back down indicating that the gathering was over.

People started filling out, except for the five Rangers, the four of them staying because they had been told so beforehand, Stilson, because he wasn't going to let go without a fight and was determined to keep the other four, especially Crowley, in his sight.

As the throne room finally emptied of the last stragglers casting curious glances over their shoulders, Oswald slumped a little in his throne. This whole thing had taken a lot out of him and his energy was low.

"Duncan, my son, I will retire and leave the rest in your capable hands." He both sounded and looked tired.

"Yes, Father. Rest well."

The Queen rose from her chair and kissed Duncan's forehead before she took King Oswald's arm and lead him from the room out of a side door. Only Duncan, the Rangers, the chamberlain and the dozen knights from the travelling party remained.

Stilson pointed a finger at Crowley. "You can't possibly be Commandant; you have only been commissioned for three years."

Somewhere in the back of his mind Crowley was impressed Stilson even remembered, but it was a fleeting feeling. He had probably kept tabs on all the real Rangers for Morgarath.

"Why not? I'm a fully trained Ranger, Stilson."

Stilson shook his head adamantly. "You're too young and inexperienced for the job."

Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Too young? Those are words that have been used by Morgarath to separate me from the throne. Surely you do not want to follow in the footsteps of a traitor, Stilson."

Stilson paled a little as he realised he had inadvertently insulted the Prince Regent. "Ah, of course not, your highness. But it does take some experience leading the Rangers and as leader he will need to command a mottled bunch of people, many many years his senior. It might be difficult for him to get the respect needed for this job."

"I don't have a problem with it," Pritchard said, smiling at Stilson. He was clearly enjoying seeing Stilson dig himself into a hole.

Stilson glared daggers at him. "Of course not. He was your apprentice. I guess this was all your idea, wasn't it?"

"Not in the slightest," Pritchard answered cheerfully.

"We elected him leader," Egon said. "Had a vote on it."

Berwick nodded. "It was even confirmed when my group of Rangers joined up with Crowley's. He had a plan, he had a vision, and he had proven his leader skills." He looked towards Duncan. "Frankly, we would have been rather disappointed if you and the King hadn't accepted Crowley as the new commandant; we did vote for him."

Duncan nodded. "Of course. I respect the Rangers and have seen his abilities in person myself. He and Halt did get me out of Castle Wildriver."

Stilson was getting redder by the minute again, but he noticed the new name. "Halt? Who's Halt? There's no Rangers by that name." He glared at the other Rangers.

"Oh, he's new," Egon said.

"Fresh out of Hibernia," Berwick added.

"And a very good archer," Pritchard put in.

Stilson raised an eyebrow. He knew enough of Pritchard to know he wouldn't say so unless he was an absolute expert. Then he narrowed his eyes as a thought hit him. "Hibernia? And who would have trained a Hibernian?"

"That would be me," Pritchard said proudly.

"Ha!" Stilson exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. "You admit to teaching a foreigner our ways! That will not go unheard, Pritchard."

Duncan suppressed a sigh. He knew they had to deal with Stilson and he knew the other Rangers had fun taunting him, but Duncan found it tiring to listen to Stilson's attempts to discredit the others and get his position back.

"I see no problem, Stilson," Crowley put in. "Pritchard wasn't a part of the corps at the time and thus wasn't bound by our rules and regulations. And besides there's no actual rule against taking apprentices from another country, and Halt is ready to swear allegiance to Araluen. Rangers can't serve another King, but he won't. Once he's sworn in he will be an Araluen Ranger."

Duncan couldn't hide a slight smile. Crowley had clearly put some thought into how he would deal with Stilson. Either that or he was just really good at thinking on the spot. He guessed it was probably a mix of the two.

Stilson looked outrageous at Crowley's calm remark. "You see no problem? I suppose you would welcome any stranger wanting to be a Ranger no matter their country then?" he demanded.

"If they have the skills needed, the right mentality, and are willing to swear allegiance to the crown, then yes, I would," Crowley calmly replied. "Otherwise no."

"Your highness, this is outrageous! You can't let him run the Corps like that; he will surely ruin it!"

Duncan decided he had had enough of this bickering. He was Prince Regent; it was time to put an end to this. "Enough, Stilson. The Rangers have elected Crowley their leader, and both the King and myself approve of the choice. Crowley is the new Commandant, whether you like it or not. The question is: will you follow his orders or not?" Duncan's tone made it clear those were his only two options.

Stilson opened and closed his mouth a few times. He clearly did not want to give up, but neither did he want to deal with whatever the consequences would be if he refused. Finally he bowed his head to Duncan. "I will, of course, follow your wish, your highness. And if it is your wish that there is a new Commandant then I will abide by it."

Duncan noticed how he didn't quite answer the question of whether or not he would follow Crowley's orders, but he suspected the Rangers would most likely deal with that themselves. And at any rate Duncan would need to start an inquiry to find out how deeply Stilson had been involved with Morgarath. The Rangers had told him they generally believed him to be a dupe and toady, who had sucked up to Morgarath to gain influence, but likely wasn't part of Morgarath's inner circle. But they would soon find out.

"In that case, I believe we are done here," said Duncan. "Commandant Crowley, please get to work on reorganising the Ranger Corps right away; we need the Rangers more than ever."

Crowley bowed to Duncan. "Of course, your highness."

Duncan gave him a curt nod and dismissed the Rangers with a wave of his hand. He had his own work to do and needed to get started right away himself.

The Rangers all bowed to him before they turned around and walked out of the hall, Stilson rather stiffly and glaring daggers at Crowley's back. He would get him for this.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, that was fun," Berwick commented.

Egon raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not sure we share the same definition of fun."

"Oh, come on," Pritchard chimed in. "Seeing Stilson blow steam out of his ears like that? That was fun."

Egon shook his head. "No, it wasn't fun." Pritchard looked about to object, when he continued. "It was priceless." A slow smile spread over his face. "Absolutely priceless."

Pritchard and Berwick seemed to consider it for a moment, then they both nodded.

"Okay, yeah, have to give you that; it really was priceless. The others will be sorry they missed it," Berwick said with a grin.

"Most definitely."

They were sitting in the Commandant's office, which they had gone straight to after they had left the hall. Stilson had glared at them, huffed and gone his own way, and Crowley had briefly considered sending someone after him, but decided against it for now. Stilson would show his hand soon enough, and the guards knew to alert them if he tried to leave the castle. Right now he needed to see if there were any evidence of betrayal against the crown from Stilson's side. Even if there wasn't and Stilson just turned out to be easily manipulated and duped, he doubted he would keep him on despite how few they were. They had no use for a Ranger who was weak of mind and Stilson had never been a good Ranger, only just passing his exams. No, one way or another Stilson was going. It was just a matter of how and why.

"What do you think?" Berwick asked him.

"Huh?" Crowley answered, his mind somewhere else.

"Was the look on Stilson's face just fun or was it priceless?" he pressed.

Crowley waved a hand vaguely around. "Both. But the real question is what are we going to do with him?"

Berwick sighed realising that Crowley had gone all serious and wouldn't be up for discussing it now. Later, but not now. He forced himself back to the matter at hand; the question of Stilson's possible betrayal and what evidence there might be of it.

"I suggest we get Duncan to banish him. Would serve him right," Pritchard put in.

Crowley looked at him with an exasperated expression. "You know very well we can't do that until we have concrete proof of betrayal against the crown. Being a fool isn't grounds for banishment. And we really don't want to go the route Morgarath took to get rid of the Rangers," he said pointedly.

Pritchard shrugged, but didn't say anything.

"Looking through all of this will take time," Egon commented. "Stilson wasn't exactly the most organised or neat type, was he?" He made a hand gesture to the piles around the office and the general untidiness of it.

"You've got that right," Berwick agreed. "Just looking through it will take days, even if we only skim read."

"And we surely won't find a folder or pile named 'Morgarath's plans' anywhere in this mess." Pritchard looked around disapprovingly. "I guess the real question is; what are we going to do about him while we search through this mess?"

They all considered the question.

"We will need to keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't try to take out his frustrations on the King or Duncan," Crowley said.

"Or us," Berwick chimed in.

Crowley smiled at him. "Oh, I do hope that he will try and take it out on us. We all know any one of us can beat him in a fight. The trouble comes if he doesn't go for the direct route, but tries something subtle."

The others offered their agreement and Crowley turned speculative again. "I think he's most likely to take his frustrations out on either Pritchard or myself. That frees you two up to go shadowing him around and keeping tabs on him, while he keeps tabs on us."

"Sounds like fun," said Berwick.

"Agreed. Stilson has a fight to pick with you for taking his job and generally he just doesn't like Pritchard –"

"One doesn't understand why," Pritchard interjected.

"– so it makes sense to have Berwick and myself be the ones to keep tabs on him and make sure he doesn't try anything," Egon finished.

Berwick nodded. "And stop him if he does try something."

"Just don't stop him too soon; if he tries something we want to catch him in the act and we want it to stick. There must not be any doubt of his intentions." Crowley bore his gaze into theirs. "Don't interfere in his doings until there's solid proof of wrongdoing."

They nodded their understanding.

"So, those two get to shadow Stilson around, and you have to look through this mess. Any plans for me?" Pritchard asked.

Crowley smiled at him. "Yes, you get to help me look through this mess."

Pritchard slumped a bit in his chair in defeat, and Berwick and Egon grinned at each other.

"We'll leave you two to it then," Egon said rising.

Berwick nodded. "Have fun." He waved a hand in goodbye.

When they were gone Pritchard looked at Crowley. "You couldn't have found something more interesting for me?"

"Sure, I could," Crowley said with a smile. "But then I'd have to look through all of this myself and that would be no fun at all."

Pritchard shook his head ruefully. "Well then, hand me that stack of papers."

§

It was around midnight before Crowley called a halt to their search through the stacks of paper. His back was sore from sitting still for too long, bend over the desk, and now he stretched trying to get the kinks out again.

He looked at the remaining piles disconsolately. "This will take days to get done. And that's without adding the new work to be done on reforming the Ranger Corps."

Pritchard nodded while he finished skimming the paper he was currently reading. He put it down with a sigh. "Do you really want just the two of us sitting in here all day for the next many days?"

Crowley shock his head. "No, we have other things do to, too, but I don't want to leave the office unattended either. You never know if Stilson might go back in for something."

Pritchard looked at him plainly. "Don't tell me you plan on sleeping in here."

But again Crowley shook his head. "Why do you think I sent Egon and Berwick to shadow him? They can stop him if he tries to enter. I'm mostly worried he might send a servant, so we need to stay on our toes." Crowley yawned. "For now I'll just set up a little trap so we can see it if anyone has gone in during the night."

Pritchard grinned. "Good idea. Let's get it set up, then find those nice, soft beds, there are sure to be here."

Crowley returned the grin. "I have looked forward to those."

§

Egon had volunteered for the first shift. He and Berwick had quickly found out where Stilson's quarters were and after they had both scouted this part of the castle they had decided on a roster. The King's chamberlain had worked quickly to set up four rooms for the Rangers, and Egon and Berwick had inspected them in turn. He looked forward to sleeping in a real bed tonight and hoped Berwick wouldn't oversleep because of the nice bed.

He shifted on his feet to keep the blood flowing. He was hidden in one of the castle's many crenellations right next to a suit of armour and the shadows made him virtually invisible. Earlier in the evening quite a few servants had passed right by him, but by now no one had walked past for some time. He had a good view of the corridor from here right up to and past the door to Stilson's quarters a few meters further down. He and Berwick had both agreed on this place as a good hiding place to keep watch. Of course, they would have to work on something different once it got light again. They could probably stay hidden from a general passer by, but Stilson was Ranger trained and sure to notice them, even if neither of them held his skills in any particular regard. And of course, Stilson knew the layout of the castle better than any of them.

Shadowing Stilson in this castle will be a challenge. Sooner or later he's bound to notice or figure it out if he hasn't already done so. If he's at least a little intelligent he probably suspects we are keeping watch of him, he thought.

Egon stifled a yawn. He had watched the light from the moon moving over the floor and walls completely changing the angle it now fell in on and he had had some long and boring days while riding north. And he simply wasn't all that young any more, and surely it must soon be time for Berwick to come.

He heard the faintest whisper of sound and immediately scanned the whole hallway to locate it. It could just be a mouse scurrying about; he had already spotted one of those earlier, but this hadn't sounded quite like that. His eyes darted from side to side while he stood completely still.

Then a hand touched his arm. It was only Egon's many years of experience that kept him from tensing up and moving. Instead he turned his head to look at Berwick, who had just appeared next to him. He nodded at him, but kept silent. Without saying a word Egon glided out from his hiding place and Berwick took up position there in his place. They had already planned how to do it all, so there was no need to speak.

Then Egon ghosted down the hallway towards his own room with its soft bed. Berwick marvelled at how Egon simply vanished from his sight within a couple of meters and moved without the slightest sound. He's definitely earned every recommendation he has, Berwick mused. Then he pushed thoughts of Egon's skills out of his mind and settled in for what would most likely be three very boring hours watching the dark grey hallway.

Berwick was right. Aside from another couple of mice scurrying about the most exiting thing that happened during his shift was when a castle cat came in pursuit of one of the mice. Neither mouse nor cat paid him any attention. Eventually Egon went on shift again and Berwick went back to catch a couple of hours more sleep.

§

He met up with Crowley and Pritchard in the office around mid morning.

"Found anything of interest?" he said as way of greeting.

Crowley shook his head. "Not really. Would have been nice if we had."

Pritchard greeted him without looking up from what he was reading. "You have anything of interest to share?"

Berwick scratched his cheek. "Well, the most excitement I got tonight was seeing one of the castle cats chase a castle mouse. I think the mouse got away."

Crowley grinned at him. "We might be stuck with this job, but at least we get lots of uninterrupted sleep. By the way, Egon said the same as you. Except he didn't report any cat chases."

"Stilson hasn't left his rooms?" Berwick's eyebrows went up. That didn't sound right.

Crowley waved a hand. "Oh, he did leave them, but not until well past sunrise. Either he likes to sleep in or he's been fuming or planning in his rooms. Egon said he went to the dinning hall to eat. Had lots of eggs and coffee."

"Yeah, the breakfast was quite good," Berwick agreed.

"Egon also said that," Pritchard commented. "And I agree; excellent breakfast."

"So what now? I know you'll be in here going through all this and Egon and I will be keeping tabs on Stilson, but other than that?"

Crowley looked thoughtfully ahead of him. "Well, hopefully we will find something here to tie him to Morgarath and his plans, or you and Egon will catch him doing something unacceptable, but we can't wait forever for him to make a move. So we might need to provoke him a little."

"More than losing his position of Commandant will do?"

"Yes. You did notice how he carefully avoided telling Duncan whether he would follow my orders or not yesterday?"

Berwick nodded. They had all noticed it.

"Well, I'm working on reforming the corps, so I think I shall have to involve Stilson a little in the process," Crowley said with a smile.

Berwick raised an eyebrow. "You would trust him to do what you say or actually help you?"

Crowley shook his head. "Not in the slightest. But it might shake him up enough that he shows his true colours."

Berwick nodded. Stilson would definitely feel provoked if Crowley started giving him orders and telling him what to do. "When do you plan on starting?"

"I already have. I'll send for Stilson after lunch and then we'll see what happens."

§

"What do you want?" The words were curt and not remotely friendly.

"And hello to you, too," Crowley responded.

Stilson had spoken the moment he had opened the door and seen Crowley behind the desk. His desk, as far as Stilson was concerned. He scowled at him, not bothering to hide his dislike now that Duncan wasn't around any more.

Crowley waved a hand at a chair in front of him. "Take a seat." He kept his tone light, waiting to see whether Stilson would refuse even that simple order or not.

He continued scowling at him as he looked around and saw that Crowley had already been through a lot of his paper piles, but he walked forward and sat down in the offered chair, glaring daggers at Crowley.

"Great, now to business. I've been charged with reforming the Ranger Corps, but it would certainly be faster if you cooperate with me and help out." Crowley paused, but Stilson just looked at him, tight-lipped, and not saying a word. "So I would like to know how your filing system works." Crowley waved a hand around taking in the cabinets and the piles on the tables and floor.

Stilson raised an eyebrow. "If you are so great a Commandant, then surely you can figure it out yourself," came the curt reply. "If not, then maybe you shouldn't be the Commandant."

"Oh, I'll figure it out, but it would be faster if you simply told me how your system is set up."

For a moment they just looked each other in the eye. Then Stilson snorted.

"Figure it out yourself, Crowley." The tone was barely civil and he practically sneered as he said Crowley's name.

Crowley raised an eyebrow. It was clear Stilson wasn't going to be cooperative, but he had to try and he wanted to see how he would react to different requests and orders. So far Crowley had kept it to polite requests, but he wasn't done yet.

"Where do you keep the dossiers on the different Rangers?" Crowley had in fact found them earlier that morning, he just wanted to see if Stilson would reply.

Stilson merely pointed at the cabinet to the left of Crowley.

"And where is the evidence kept used to convict the former Rangers of treason and other crimes?"

Stilson just looked at him in contempt. "You think you can just make all that go away and reinstate all of them?" He snorted. "There were plenty of evidence against them."

"I'm not asking about what evidence there were, just were you keep it," Crowley said feeling his patience being strained. He was getting tired of Stilson's behaviour really quickly.

"Go find it yourself."

"Stilson, do I need to remind you that the King and Prince Regent has appointed me Commandant and that Prince Duncan has ordered you to cooperate with me?"

"You're unfit for the position. Just because you have managed to convince the King and Prince you should be Commandant doesn't mean it's right." Stilson didn't make any attempt to disguise his contempt for Crowley.

Tall words coming from an incompetent fool like you, Crowley thought. "Where do you keep the files?" Crowley said looking Stilson straight in the eye. The previous light tone was gone.

Stilson just glared at him, crossing his arms in protest. He wasn't about to let Crowley of all people win a staring contest.

"Last chance, Stilson. Either you cooperate or I'll kick you out."

"You can't kick me out," he protested. "I've been a Ranger way longer than you."

"Funny, that didn't seem to be an issue when you got all the others convicted and banned from the country."

"You can't kick me out, you don't have the mandate. I haven't broken any laws."

"Actually, I can and I do. I've been given the mandate to reform the Ranger Corps and that means I can kick out anyone, who doesn't live up to our new standard or who won't follow orders. That includes you." Crowley gave him a hard look. "And whether you have broken any laws or not, I'll leave to the King and Prince to determine."

Stilson started sputtering his protests, but Crowley waved them aside. "Save your breath, Stilson. I want to know whether you will fall in line and follow orders or not. So what will it be?"

Stilson's look was one of pure hatred. He absolutely hated this usurper right now and how he was sitting in _his_ chair, behind _his_ desk, thinking he could simply take over _his_ job.

"No."

"No what?" Crowley demanded.

"No, I refuse to take orders from _you_. I'll only take orders from the King."

Crowley gave him a hard look. "Hand it over."

"Hand what over?" Stilson shot back.

Crowley held out a hand. "The oakleaf. Hand it over. Now."

"What?!"

"You heard me. If you refuse to follow my orders, then I have no use for you in the Corps. So hand it over."

For a moment Stilson just stared at Crowley. Then he almost tore it off and threw it at his open hand while rising from the chair looking like a thundercloud.

Crowley just caught the silver oakleaf and placed it on the desk under his hand. "Now get out. Hand in your Ranger's equipment within the next hour."

"Fine," Stilson said through gritted teeth. He turned and marched to the door. Before he left Crowley shot a final warning at him.

"And don't leave the castle, Stilson. Until I know whether or not you deliberately tried to discredit the other Rangers and get them arrested and banned from Araluen you are to stay put."

Stilson just shot him a look of hatred from the door before walking out and slamming it behind him.

"Well, that was fun," Pritchard said as Crowley slumped in his chair. Pritchard stood up from his hiding place behind one of the big chairs with a table next to it. Thanks to the many paper piles it had been simple enough to create the hiding place for him though it had been cramped.

Crowley rubbed his eyes and looked at the silver oakleaf in his hand. "I'm not sure I would use that word for it." He looked at Pritchard. "But there's no doubt he'll target me if he decides to do something stupid now."

Pritchard nodded his agreement. "Yes, you have made sure of that. Now it just remains to be seen if he really is that stupid."


	3. Chapter 3

There was a knock on the door and a voice from inside answered 'come in'. Crowley opened the heavy wooden door and walked into the King's office, now occupied by the Prince Regent, Prince Duncan.

Duncan looked up at him from the paper he was studying and gestured to a chair on the other side of the heavy desk. As Crowley walked across the room he quickly assessed it; most of the furniture were heavy and solid looking pieces that looked like they could stop just about any weapon a person could carry. The large desk would certainly be an effective barrier should be door be breached by an attacker and give the person behind it time to reach his own weapon. Duncan in his turn was studying the Ranger Commandant. He wasn't surprised to see Crowley cast a casual glance around the office and felt pretty sure there was nothing casual about it. He had found that was seldom the case with the Rangers. He continued to study him as he sat down in the proffered chair and looked at Duncan.

"Your highness," Crowley said respectfully, as way of greeting.

For a moment Duncan hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should refer to Crowley with his new title or not, but indecision wasn't fit for a ruler, so he made his decision. "Commandant. Please tell me how the work is going on getting the Ranger Corps back on its feet." Duncan was only all too aware that the Corps currently only held about a fourth of its previous strength, and he hoped Crowley would be able to quickly change that.

Crowley seemed to think it over for a moment while he collected his thoughts. "Your highness, while we both wish for the Corps to be back to its full strength of fifty, it is not likely to be happening any time soon. We are currently a dozen Rangers and while we have already started our efforts to contact those Rangers that Morgarath got banned to invite them back, it will take time, and many might not even want to return."

Duncan frowned. "Not even now we know the charges were fake and they will be given a full pardon and reinstatement?" Duncan had no doubt that every one of those charged were purely trumped up by Morgarath and his cronies and he was ready to pardon every Ranger on the spot. He had even said as much to Crowley and his father had agreed, though he had cautioned them and said they might still want to investigate the matter. If for nothing else then simply to find out who were in league with Morgarath.

Crowley nodded with a serious expression. "Yes. You must understand that it has been quite an insult to them to be charged with those crimes and have their oakleaves taken from them. A Ranger spends five years perfecting his craft before he can call himself King's Ranger. It takes a lot of skill and dedication. To simply be discarded the way many of them were will undoubtedly have left many angry and disillusioned. And while I do not doubt that some will return I also don't doubt that all will."

Duncan took that information in trying to imagine what it would be like to proudly serve your country and your king and then be sent away. And realised it probably felt a lot like when he was sent away from Castle Araluen, only worse. At least he hadn't been banned from the country and sent away in disgrace. These men had. And if they had decided they no longer wanted anything to do with Araluen he could hardly blame them.

Crowley continued. "Of course, we also know that some have died. We are not sure how many may have died, but there will be some besides Truscott."

Duncan frowned. "Who is Truscott?"

"He was the Ranger in Eisel Fief. Was murdered just before we reached that fief to recruit him."

"Ah. I see." Duncan didn't really know what to say. He realised that if it hadn't been for Crowley's and Halt's interference and quick acting the last Rangers could easily all have been killed or driven from the country and then he and his father would be death while Morgarath would be ruling the country. He pushed the thought aside. He needed to focus on the matter at hand. "But you think some will return?"

Crowley nodded. "Yes."

"How many?"

Crowley hesitated. This was the hard part. "I don't know. And I don't want to try and put a number on it either. If we are lucky most will return, but it might only be a few. Most have been banned, but some left of their own accord when Nicholl was charged with crimes against the crown. They might return once they hear his name has been cleared or they might not. It is really impossible to tell. Even Pritchard doesn't want to make any hard guesses on who or how many might return, and he know these Rangers better than I do." He shook his head. "There's just too many variables to say. And of course, there's also the issue of getting into contact with them all; they have been scattered all over the world and we might have trouble getting word to many of them."

Duncan nodded his understanding. While he wanted the Ranger Corps back to full strength as soon as possible he also realised he would simply have to make do with what he had and the same held true for Crowley, who was the one who had to organise the Rangers.

"What about the Rangers that was appointed in their places?"

Crowley couldn't keep a small snort of disgust back. "Rangers? They are not Rangers, your highness. They have bought their oakleaves, not earned them, and from I've seen they basically have no skill. Some of them can barely shoot a bow or ride a horse." Again he shook his head. "No, they don't deserve to be called Rangers."

"So there's no one there who could fulfil the position?" Even though Crowley had made it perfectly clear what he thought of these replacement Rangers, Duncan needed to be absolutely sure Crowley wasn't simply dismissing them, because he didn't personally like them.

"I seriously doubt it, your highness. I'd be willing to test them, but do remember that we first need to figure out if they are behind Morgarath or not. If they are not loyal to the crown then it doesn't matter how skillful they may be; they won't be Rangers."

Duncan nodded. "I trust you are already looking into that."

Crowley returned the nod. "Yes. Though it is slow going. I can't say that Stilson was the most organised type, so just sorting through the papers and files in the office will take some time."

"He can't help you out?" Duncan inquired.

"He could, but he won't. I've asked and he flat out refused to help or answer my questions."

"Maybe he needs more time to cool down?" Duncan didn't want to loose another Ranger and since the others didn't seem to believe he had been disloyal to the crown he hoped Stilson would come around and accept Crowley as Commandant.

Crowley shook his head. "Too late for that. He already crossed the line with his flat out refusal to follow your order to follow my orders. I've taken his oakleaf."

Duncan sat back in his chair. He hadn't been expecting that. "You don't think that was premature? You said yourself you didn't think he was disloyal to the crown and being demoted did undoubtedly sting."

But Crowley was shaking his head. "He got a day to cool down and think things over. And besides I cannot use a Ranger in the Corps, who will refuse my orders and work against me. He might not be one of Morgarath's toadies, but he certainly fell for his charade and did whatever Morgarath wanted him to.

"Whether or not Stilson have committed a crime against the crown remains to be seen, but he won't be a Ranger any more. The way he is acting he would do more damage than good in the Corps."

Duncan mulled those words over. He trusted Crowley's judgement and if Crowley thought it was best to dismiss Stilson altogether then he would stand by him in that decision, but that didn't mean he had to agree. "You don't think he might do something rash and lash out at you?"

Crowley smiled tightly. "Let him try."

Duncan realised Crowley did indeed think Stilson might do something rash and was even looking forward to it. It became clear to him that there was no love lost between them. Duncan just hoped Stilson wouldn't get the better of Crowley; he really needed the new Commandant if the reformation of the Corps was to be successful. "I'm going to trust that you know what you are doing and have matters well in hand."

"Thank you, your highness," Crowley said with a nod.

"All right, let's leave this subject for a while and move on to the next. As it turns out there are quite a lot to consider when ruling a country."

"Of course. Whatever you wish." Crowley sat comfortably, ready to discuss whatever else was on the young regent's mind, before he would return to those stacks of paper in his new office.

§

As it turned out there was a lot Prince Duncan wanted to discuss with Crowley and get his opinion on. One thing that had him concerned was getting all the evidence against Morgarath lined up so he could be tried and convicted before the council of barons. Neither of them were interested in Morgarath worming his way out of the treason he had committed, so they needed to make sure their evidence were watertight. Of course, the fact that he had retreated to his castle when accused at the tournament didn't speak in Morgarath's favour and some of the barons, who had previously held Morgarath in high regard were now a lot more sceptical. It helped that the King himself had spoken out against Morgarath and right now he was their best witness against Morgarath. Morgarath would be interested in drawing things out in the hopes that King Oswald would die in the meantime.

It was a frustrating subject and Crowley eventually suggested they discuss the other matters at hand and leave that one for later.

By the time Duncan finally gave him leave he had been in the office for almost four hours and his head felt like it had been pounded with a meat hammer and then put through a wringer. I hope this isn't how it's going to be all the time as the Commandant, Crowley thought.

He walked back to his own office where Pritchard was dutifully sorting through the stacks. He looked up as Crowley entered.

"Took you longer than I expected. I was beginning to think Stilson might have gotten to you."

Crowley shook his head. "I now know why you didn't want to be in charge. My head feels like it's overflowing with problems and possibilities I have to consider."

He dumped down in the nearest chair and closed his eyes.

Pritchard grinned at him. He had no doubt that Crowley would make a fine leader, but being leader also meant taking on some not so fun responsibilities and having to look at more things from more sides than the rest of them would have to.

"Did you tell him that you sacked Stilson?" Pritchard asked cheerfully.

Crowley opened an eye to look at him. His cheerful tone was almost annoying with how drained Crowley felt right now, but he couldn't blame him for being happy to give Stilson some of his own medicine. He had rather enjoyed the reversal himself, too, after having been the one being told off by Stilson just a couple of months earlier. "Yes. He was surprised at the quick dismissal, but he won't contest it. He's mostly worried about our small numbers and getting the Corps back to full strength as soon as possible. I've told him we are working on getting in contact with the old Rangers to invite them back."

"That could take a while," Pritchard reminded him.

"Yeah, I know," Crowley said with a sigh. "For now we will simply have to make do with what we have." He stretched, leaned forward in the chair and waved a hand around the office. "But first we need to get all of this in order. Then we'll do a proper round of spring cleaning and work our way through the former Rangers, hoping to get as many as possible to come back to Araluen."

Pritchard nodded. It made sense to deal with the fake Rangers, as he liked to call them, before they dove into the full reformation of the Corps.

Crowley flopped back in the chair again. "But before I do anything else I'll take a nap. Wake me in twenty minutes."

Pritchard grinned and returned to the stack in front of him. He was glad he wasn't the Commandant.

§

Egon was watching Stilson, who was shooting arrow after arrow at three targets on the range in the courtyard. To an outsider it probably looked impressive the way he kept hitting the targets, but to Egon it was less satisfactory. He shook his head slightly. Stilson had been Ranger trained, but his skills were mediocre, at least as far as the older Ranger was concerned. Yes, he hit his targets, and yes, his arrows were generally somewhere in the middle, but the range wasn't all that long, only a 100 meters, and his arrows still hit everything from dead centre to the second ring. And then there was the speed with which he shot; he was far slower than a Ranger should be. Egon wondered if he had always been this bad or if he had simply not bothered to keep up his training after he became Commandant.

Whatever the reason Egon decided that Stilson didn't really deserve the silver oakleaf, and he was glad that Crowley had taken it. Of course, it was clear that Stilson was anything but happy. His stance wasn't relaxed as it should be, but he looked tense and angry. Under other circumstances Stilson wouldn't have been allowed near a weapon such as the bow, but Egon knew he could shoot faster and with more precision than Stilson, so he wasn't too concerned. And of course, there was the fact that Stilson was inside Castle Araluen and surrounded by knights, so he would have to be very foolish to try and shoot anyone.

He was wearing a dark green cloak, his Ranger's cloak turned in along with the double scabbard with the two knives. Instead he wore a single knife, but even if he didn't live up to Egon's expectations of what a Ranger should be able to do, Egon knew he could still do a lot of damage with it if he wanted to. Even a poor Ranger was still better than just about everyone else in the country.

Stilson finally seemed done with shooting the targets to pieces, plucking his arrows from them and placing them back in his quiver. He strode a few meters away and flicked his knife at the nearest target. Then he retrieved it and did it again. And again and again.

Egon raised an eyebrow. Stilson seems to have taken a sudden interest in practising his skills. We had better keep close watch of him.

He kept watch silently as Stilson kept flicking the knife at the targets and retrieving it for the next hour before he finally stopped and went back to the castle itself in time for dinner.

Egon roused himself from his position and followed him inside. He was hungry himself and it was at any rate Berwick's turn to keep track of Stilson. Hopefully Berwick had already eaten, otherwise it would simply be too bad for him. Egon allowed himself a small grin as he turned towards the large dining hall.

§

Crowley frowned at Egon. Not so much at the man himself, but more at his report of what Stilson had been doing today. "He's spent the whole day at the range practising?"

"Pretty much, yes. After he turned in his cloak and daggers, he went back to his rooms and came out again shortly after with his bow and quiver and headed straight for the range. He spent roughly three hours there."

Crowley nodded while he continued to frown. Egon was just summarising the things he had already told him, but Rangers believed in making sure nothing had been left out or forgotten.

Crowley was both puzzled and worried at Stilson's sudden interest in practising his weapons skill. Granted he didn't know how much time Stilson usually spent at the range, but he felt confident it wasn't this much. And three hours seemed a bit excessive just for venting. No, he felt sure Stilson was planning something, but whether it was an attack or simply to make a run for it, he didn't know. Or even something completely different. He simply didn't know him well enough to know what might be going through his head right now.

He looked at Egon, who looked relaxed in the high backed chair he was sitting in. "If he's suddenly training like this we might need to keep extra careful watch of him." He sighed. "But we are only four Rangers and don't have the numbers for double watch."

Egon waved a hand in dismissal. "He may be training now, but he's slow and his skills leave something to be desired. Any one of us can still do better than him."

Crowley smiled slightly. It was a sentiment he fully agreed with. "Oh, I know. In a fair fight I know where I would put my money. I'm mostly worried that the fight wouldn't be fair. Or that he would target someone else."

He knew the Rangers would be able to deal with Stilson if the need arose, but that wasn't the case for the rest of the castle inhabitants. They didn't just need to protect themselves and the King and the Prince; they also needed to protect all the innocent people in the castle itself and that could complicate things.

"Even so, Berwick and I are both faster and better than him. But I'll make sure to check up on Berwick regularly just in case."

Crowley nodded. He agreed with Egon, but he couldn't afford to underestimate Stilson or ignore that he had spent the day weapons training after Crowley had taken his silver oakleaf and stripped him of the rank of Ranger. That would simply be foolish.

He really wished he didn't have to deal with Stilson while simultaneously trying to reform the Ranger Corps, sorting through the mess in the office, and advising Duncan on things he had barely considered before. He was starting to realise that the job of Commandant had a lot more to it than just assigning fiefs and missions to the other Rangers and telling them what to do.

"Get back out there and let me know if he continues with the weapons training."

Egon nodded and rose. "See you later. Have fun," he added to Pritchard.

Pritchard just shook his head. "How can anyone see this as fun?"

Crowley didn't bother replying, but went back to his stack of papers.

§

After the first couple of days, things settled into a sort of routine. Crowley and Pritchard would spend most of the day in the office with brief breaks to stretch their backs, get food and use the toilet, and Crowley would in addition meet with Prince Duncan after lunch, while Pritchard kept the King and Queen up to date on things. Egon and Berwick would shadow Stilson and report on his movements to Crowley and each other. Stilson for his part spent a lot of time in his quarters and at the range. They were all worried about his sudden interest in the range, especially as they found out from the castle servants that that wasn't his usual behaviour. But after consulting with Duncan Crowley agreed to leave him be, at least until they had evidence of foul play, and so far they had not been able to prove that Stilson had known anything about Morgarath's planned betrayal and treachery to the crown beforehand. It looked more and more likely that Stilson had simply been a willfully blind pawn, who had seen Morgarath as a way to gain more influence, but who hadn't seen through Morgarath's veil of lies, just like a host of barons hadn't. And that wasn't grounds for a trial or any punishment. At least not beyond what he had already received, and that hadn't been for being duped by Morgarath, but for disobeying Crowley's orders. As it were Crowley realised they might have to simply let Stilson go and hope he wouldn't want to exact revenge on any of them for losing his position as Commandant, which wasn't a prospect he liked.

Crowley and Pritchard had also gotten the papers in the office into some sort of order, and had started to look closer at them. Crowley had ordered all the information regarding the appointed Rangers and was working on a formal letter to call all of them to Castle Araluen at the same time. He needed to consider travelling times from the different parts of the kingdom as well as how many proper Rangers he could assemble, too. He would need pretty much all of them to make this work, and right now they were scattered around the country except for the four of them here. In the end he decided it would be easiest to just call for the yearly Gathering to be held at Castle Araluen due to 'special circumstances' and Prince Duncan readily agreed to it.

Pritchard, Egon, and Berwick had all sent out the first letters to the dismissed and banned Rangers. Crowley himself didn't have contact with any of them; due to his young age he hadn't been close friends with any of the dismissed Rangers and had no idea where they had all gone to. But he hoped they would start getting replies within a few weeks and that people would be coming back. He didn't want to think about the ramifications if no one came back or only a few did so.

And so the days settled into a routine. The work load didn't diminish, but things had fallen into a sort of order and while Crowley was still dead tired at the end of each day, his brain no longer felt like it was being pounded with a meat hammer and put through a wringer. Now it was just the wringer and he was sure that wouldn't last either.


	4. Chapter 4

"You wanted to see us, your highness?" Crowley stood in the doorway, Pritchard a half step behind him.

"Yes, come on in," Duncan said, waving a hand at them beckoning them closer. He rose from his high backed chair and walked around the desk. "Let's sit closer to the fire." It was a chilly day despite the time of year, and it had been raining almost non stop since last night. They all hoped it would let up soon.

Settled in Crowley leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. It was the first time Duncan had asked for one of the other Rangers to come along to their meetings and Crowley was curious what he had in mind. He didn't have long to wait for it.

"I'll get straight to the point; what are your findings regarding Stilson and his connections to Morgarath?"

Crowley and Pritchard exchanged a glance, then Crowley answered. "Honestly? We have found no evidence that he had any special connections to Morgarath besides the obvious sucking up to him to gain his favour and gain influence through him. As far as we have been able to determine he has not committed treason against the crown."

Duncan let go of a small sigh. "Then your findings match what my other people have been able to find. Like so many others Stilson did what he could to curry favour with Morgarath, but did not act against the crown, because he did not know of Morgarath's true plan. He simply did not see the truth." He looked at Crowley and Pritchard. "You may have acted too rashly in taking his oakleaf, Crowley."

But Pritchard was shaking his head. "No. With all due respect, your highness, he dug himself into that ditch when he refused to follow any order coming from Crowley."

"Even so, he has not actually committed a crime, Pritchard. And he might have acted rashly himself, because of the shock of losing the position of Ranger Commandant."

"That still doesn't excuse his behaviour. He had time to think about it; he still chose to be uncooperative."

"There's also another matter to consider in all of this," Crowley said. "Stilson may not have been aware of any of Morgarath's plans, but he should at least have been suspicious of him. For a Ranger to be that blind to what is going on around him is shocking and below what I expect of a Ranger." Pritchard nodded his agreement.

"You don't think you are being too harsh here?" Duncan asked. "Most people had no clue as to what Morgarath had in mind, even the Rangers."

"True," Crowley conceded. "But that doesn't mean we trusted him, just that we could not prove any foul play. Personally I've never liked Morgarath or trusted him; he is harsh and temperamental, and his soldiers are brutish and like terrorising the people of the fief. He did not show the markings of a good person."

"Crowley is right; I, too, have been suspicious of Morgarath since long before he got me kicked out of the country, but I couldn't prove any wrongdoing. Morgarath is far too skilled a manipulator to let himself be easily rooted out like that."

"You think Stilson should have been able to see through Morgarath and have acted differently?"

They both nodded. "Yes. He should. Instead he acted shocked at the news of his betrayal and even tried to deny it and defend Morgarath."

Duncan thought about it for a moment. He remembered how Stilson had acted when they had first arrived back at the castle and how he had seemed more concerned with getting rid of Pritchard than listening to the news they carried. He shook his head. "Do you think any Ranger should have been able to see through Morgarath and would have been able to?"

Again Crowley and Pritchard exchanged a glance. This time Pritchard spoke up. "Well, yes. I did. Nicholl wasn't fond of Morgarath and his influence either, and I know the same held true for other of the banned Rangers."

"And I know it holds true for those I gathered before the tournament, your highness. Even without having read the letters they all knew it all came back to Morgarath and none had trouble believing in his treachery. Even Halt figured he was a bad person after a single meeting with him."

That got Duncan's attention and he sat up a little straighter. He had been impressed with the young Ranger and quickly learned he was a very capable person. "So you're saying that all the Rangers were suspicious of Morgarath, except for Stilson?"

"It would seem that way, your highness," Crowley replied.

Duncan sighed again. "And what about his weapons training? Is he still training at the range every day?"

"Oh yes," Pritchard replied cheerfully. "He seems adamant to actually improve on his skills. A little late, if you ask me. He should have done that while he was a Ranger." Pritchard didn't feel any need to wrap things up nicely and showed no empathy for Stilson's situation. As far as he was concerned this was just a case of getting what he deserved. What goes around, comes around, as the saying went.

"What do you think he's planning?"

Crowley realised this was probably Duncan's real concern. Stilson had been at it for days, constantly shooting arrows at the range or throwing his knives with very little variation. If he planned something sinister it could be trouble for them. But Crowley was pretty sure there was something else at play. "I don't think he's planning to attack anyone, if that is your concern, your highness. I think he's simply trying to prove to not only himself, but the rest of us, that he is a Ranger and deserves to be one. I think he's trying to show he has what it takes to be the Ranger Commandant and get the position back."

Pritchard snorted. "Good luck with that. None of us would follow an idiot like him."

Duncan raised an eyebrow. So far the Rangers had been pretty civil and polite in the way they talked about the former Commandant, but he guessed Pritchard, having been sent away by Stilson, didn't feel the need to beat around the bush. And it was true, he mused. The Rangers, the real Rangers, had not been happy with Stilson and his lack of actual leadership. Stilson had pretty much just done whatever Morgarath had wanted, never questioning the sudden crime rate among Rangers or really tried to defend them. No, Stilson would not be accepted as the Commandant of the Rangers ever again.

"Surely he must realise he cannot be Commandant again?" Duncan said in a reasonable tone.

Crowley sighed. "Maybe he does. But at this point I think he's just holding on to hope and refusing to let it go. And with his refusal to follow orders I wouldn't even let him become a Ranger again; he would just try and undermine my authority and that is something we do not need." He shook his head. "No, we can try and calm him down before we let him go off, but he is finished as a Ranger. He has made sure of that."

Duncan nodded slowly. He wasn't fond of the idea of having a fully Ranger trained person running around the country with a grudge against the King's Rangers and the Ranger Commandant in particular, but at the same time he couldn't very well banish him from the country either, not without a crime committed.

He came to a decision. "We'll keep an eye on him for a day or two longer, but if nothing else turns up, then let him leave the castle. And if possible try to amend things between you; I don't want a Ranger trained person with a grudge against other Rangers."

Crowley and Pritchard both nodded. "We'll keep watch, no problem," Pritchard said.

"Do you have someone watching him now?"

Pritchard grinned. "Yep. Egon. He's probably not happy if he's been standing out in the rain for the past hours watching Stilson train."

Crowley quickly squashed his own grin as Duncan turned his gaze on him and raised an eyebrow. He seemed to say ' _are all Rangers this gleeful about the misfortune of another Ranger?'_

Crowley just made a minimal shrug, knowing full well that they generally really were that gleeful when it wasn't them standing out in the rain.

§

Egon suppressed a shiver. The rain had long since worked its way through his woollen cloak and everything was damp and cold. Sure it could have been worse, but after a couple hours of this a bone weary chill had settled in and he knew it would take forever getting dry and warm again once he got inside. The rain had even found its way into his boots and he wouldn't be too surprised if they squealed once he moved again. Right now he had no plans of moving though. Stilson was still at the range, now practising with his knives, ignoring the pouring rain. He has got to be drenched, too, Egon thought.

He had watched a lot of Stilson's training sessions and they tended to be very similar. At some point a few days earlier Stilson had found a pair of smaller throwing knives to add to his training regiment, but otherwise it was very predictable. As an old Ranger Egon was a little disappointed in how little variation there was in Stilson's training sessions. Sure, he had varied the distances at which he shot and he had added two more knives, but that was pretty much it. Only twice had he seen him take his horse out and ride it around, jumping over some small obstacles and the like, but he hadn't tried shooting while galloping, only at a complete standstill. And he was still too slow, as far as Egon was concerned. Of course, it didn't help that when he rode he did so with his bow on his back instead of in his left hand. It slowed him down when it came to shooting. No, Egon still thought Stilson was at apprentice level in his demonstrated skills, and he thought his training must have been lacking. Or maybe it was just Stilson who were lacking. At any rate he felt like shaking his head at him, but refrained, just to avoid sending more water down his back. So he watched and waited for him to be done for the day.

§

"How are you?" Crowley handed over a warm cup of coffee.

Egon took it gratefully. "Dry, but I can still feel the chill from standing still in the rain for so long. At least Stilson cut it short today. I guess he didn't like the rain much either."

A slight smile crossed Crowley's lips. Egon had volunteered for watching Stilson train most of the days, and he wasn't one to complain about it. Even so, no one liked being soaking wet. "Anything new?"

Egon shook his head, glad he could now do it without sending water down his back with the motion. Dry clothes were a wonderful thing. "Not really. His training sessions are very predictable. I'm actually disappointed in how little he varies them. And he has only taken his horse out twice to train on horseback."

Crowley nodded. He had gotten daily reports from both Egon and Berwick, and as the days had gone by he had realised Stilson wasn't going to do something as foolhardy as attacking any of them. He simply wanted to prove he was a Ranger, and Crowley was sure he would demand his silver oakleaf back.

"He wants his oakleaf back," Berwick said agreeing with Crowley's sentiment. For once Pritchard was shadowing Stilson and both Egon and Berwick were in the office.

Crowley nodded again. "Yes, that's what I'm thinking, too. Unfortunately, I don't think he'd be willing to actually follow me and my orders and that would create problems."

"I agree," Egon put in. "Stilson wants to be leader and he will not be happy to follow someone else. If you let him back in he will just try to undermine you."

Crowley smiled. That was exactly what he had told Prince Duncan earlier in the day and he was happy to hear the older Ranger agreed. It made him feel more sure in what he had told the Prince Regent. "And that's the real issue, isn't it? We now know he was not acting against the crown, at least not willfully, but he still refused to follow orders. I don't see a way to solve this and let him come back without it creating problems. Not with the Corps being what is currently is."

Egon and Berwick both nodded seriously. They were only too well aware that it would take a lot of time to rebuild the corps and having someone working against the Commandant and refusing to follow orders would simply put too much strain on everything. Even if he didn't directly refuse orders, but 'just' questioned them it would still create problems. No, they all knew Stilson had burned his bridges. Now they just needed to find out how to get Stilson to realise that without it resulting in another shouting match.

"Do any of you have any suggestions for how to tackle this? I'll have to talk with him again either tomorrow or the day after, and I'm thinking it would be better to get it over with."

Berwick sighed. "Not really, Crowley. Unless Stilson has calmed down over the last week he will probably react badly no matter what you do or say."

"You can try and be diplomatic, but Berwick is right; it will depend a lot on Stilson."

Crowley nodded. He had hoped the other two older and more experienced Rangers might have some good ideas for dealing with Stilson, but it seemed he was mostly on his own.

"One thing though," Berwick put in.

"Yes?"

"Try not to agitate him by taking anything else from him. I think he's rather fond of his knives." Berwick couldn't quite keep a straight face as he said it, and Crowley just raised an eyebrow at him. As Berwick's face split into a grin Crowley's quickly followed suit and soon they were all chuckling at the memory of Stilson's rage when Crowley was appointed Commandant, while Crowley also remembered his rage when he turned over his silver oakleaf. Yes, it would be a challenge to keep the meeting with Stilson from turning sour again.

§

"You sent for me?" Stilson's tone was cool, but otherwise fairly neutral.

At least that's a start, Crowley thought. He nodded. "I did. Please come in and sit down." Crowley made sure to keep his tone neutral and polite. He knew Stilson was unlikely to be friendly so it was up to him to prevent another round of angry words and veiled threats. He remembered Duncan's admonishment to mend things as far as possible with Stilson before turning him loose.

Stilson walked across the room and sat down in the chair opposite Crowley. For a moment they just looked at one another, trying to get a feel of the other person. They had both done a quiet assessment of each other in the last days, as they had been forced to admit to themselves that maybe the other person wasn't quite what they had thought.

"All right, I'll get straight to it; it has been determined that you were unaware of Morgarath's plans and were not part of his scheme to overthrow the King and take over the throne."

Stilson nodded curtly. "Of course not."

"Furthermore, you have thus been cleared of all suspicion and are now free to leave and go wherever you wish in the country. The guards at the gate have been informed of this. You may take another day to pack and get ready before you leave."

Stilson's eyes narrowed slightly, but then he composed his face into a neutral mask again. "Leave where to?" he asked.

"Wherever you want."

"And what about my silver oakleaf? I've been cleared of all suspicion and the King knows I did not have part in Morgarath's plans."

Crowley sighed inside. This is where it gets fun. "Your silver oakleaf? You have been cleared and can leave, but you have made it clear that you will not follow my orders and the Corps have no use for a Ranger that will not follow their Commandants orders." Stilson opened his mouth to speak, but Crowley continued. "In addition to that there's the fact that you were completely blindsided by Morgarath. You did not see through his lies or suspect him of any wrongdoing, when all other Rangers did." Crowley locked eyes with Stilson. "You let yourself be blinded, Stilson. And that is not a good trait in a Ranger. A Ranger must always keep his eyes and ears open and keep a certain distance to those in power. It is part of our job to keep watch of the Barons and their fiefs, and you failed to do that.

"So, no, I will not give you the silver oakleaf again. That, along with the Ranger's knives and cloak, stays here. Everything else you may keep and take with you."

For a long moment there was silence as the two men stared at each other. Crowley held Stilson's gaze without backing down and Stilson started to realise why he had been appointed Commandant; he had a strong will and could not be easily intimidated.

Finally Stilson spoke. "That is yours and the King's final decision, is it?"

Crowley nodded. "It is. And the Prince Regent has agreed with it. Sorry, Stilson, but you burned your bridges yourself, both by refusing to follow orders and by not living up to your role as a Ranger. That is something you can't simply undo and take back."

Stilson sat for a moment longer in silence. Then he abruptly stood up. "Then I guess there is nothing more for us to discuss." Crowley nodded. "If you really think you can run the Ranger Corps, then good luck with it," he said flatly.

"Good luck to you, too," Crowley said in a slightly more polite and heartfelt tone.

Stilson gave a single nod of acknowledgement before he turned on his heel and marched out of the office.

The moment the door closed after him Crowley let go of a pent up breath and sagged a little in his chair. It hadn't been pleasant, but it had gone about as well as possible and without any shouting or angry words. Of course, Stilson hadn't been happy with the final verdict. He had believed he could get his silver oakleaf back and being sacked as a Ranger was a hit to his dignity and sense of pride and importance. But hopefully Stilson wouldn't go rogue even though he now had to find another place for himself in society, one that did not include him being a King's Ranger. And after all these years, Crowley had no doubt it would be difficult for him. Maybe he'll leave the country all together, he thought. I probably would if it had been me in his boots.

He shook his head. He couldn't dwell too much on Stilson. He had already spent a lot of time on investigating him and talking about him and he had to completely reform the Ranger Corps. No, it was time to turn his attention to all the other things he had to do. With that thought Crowley picked up a pen and paper and started writing down notes for the future.

§

Stilson walked back to his quarters feeling numb. He had hoped he could get the silver oakleaf back, that showing he was serious about the training would be enough. He knew there wasn't enough Rangers around, not if Crowley had sacked everyone who had been appointed by Morgarath and him. But instead Crowley had made it clear there was no way he would be a King's Ranger ever again.

His shoulders slumped a little. Being a King's Ranger was his life. He had sought it since he was twelve and had managed to become a Ranger's Apprentice at fifteen. He had fought so hard to gain the approval of the others, but they had never seemed to respect him much and so he had found others who appreciated his skills, and he had eventually managed to gain the position of Ranger Commandant.  
He hadn't been sorry to see the other Rangers go; as far as he was concerned Nicholl hadn't shown enough appreciation of him as a Ranger and Pritchard and others like him had almost sneered at him at the Gatherings when they held their little contests in the different Ranger skills. So he had not had a problem with talking their oakleaves and putting less skilled people in their places. At least those people appreciated his skills and admired them.

Of course, that had now come back to bite him; he realised he had alienated the other Rangers by standing by Morgarath and not doing more to defend them. In fact he remembered how he had scolded Crowley not too long ago, and Crowley had paid him back in the same coin.

He pushed open the door to his quarters and went straight to a chair he could slump down in.

No, he realised he really had no one to blame but himself. And maybe his old mentor for agreeing to train him in the first place, causing him to end up in this mess. Even so he was still somewhat angry at Crowley and the others. Crowley had simply taken his silver oakleaf, his Ranger's cloak and knives, his horse...

Stilson sat up a little straighter as something occurred to him. He moved his mouth slightly as he tried to recall Crowley's exact words at their recent meeting. 'I will not give you the silver oakleaf again. That and the Ranger's cloak and knives stay here. Everything else you may take with you.' He was pretty sure this was what he had said or at least something close to it. Crowley had mentioned the oakleaf, the cloak, and the knives, but not the horse. So that meant he could take his horse with him.

His heart beat a little faster with this realisation. The Ranger horses were specially trained and bred and not something a regular person was allowed to have. So that must mean that Crowley did know he really was a Ranger no matter what he said.

"Everything else..." he mumbled. Then that is just what I'll do. I'll pack my things and take my horse and leave this place behind.

With that in mind he rose and started going through all the things he had collected over the years to select what to keep.

§

The next day three Rangers watched as Stilson prepared his Ranger's horse for leaving just after breakfast. A fourth watched from his office as he rode out of the castle and left it behind, wondering what would become of him and whether he would ever find out.

The thought was mirrored by Berwick sitting in a tree in the outer courtyard. He had heard about the final conversation between the former and current Ranger Commandant, and he hoped the former would not hold a grudge against the latter. Only time will tell, he thought. He kept watch of the castle gate and everything around him for some time, before he headed back into the castle, following in the silent footsteps of the other two Rangers.

§

"So, what do you have in mind?" Pritchard rubbed his hands together in an excited way.

Crowley suppressed a smile and raised an eyebrow instead. "You expect me to do all the work?"

"Yes," came the instant reply. "You're the Commandant."

Crowley couldn't help a grin. "That's right, I am. And as such, I'm telling you that it time to stop sitting around twiddling your thumbs."

It was Egon's turn to raise an eyebrow at this. "Twiddling our thumbs?" He looked at the other two. "I'm pretty sure I haven't been twiddling my thumbs for the past week and more."

"Neither have I," Berwick supplied. "Some of us didn't get the luxury of sleeping in a nice, warm bed all night, unlike certain other people."

Crowley grinned at them. It felt good to be back to their normal banter, which had largely been absent while they had been concerned with Stilson. "At least you didn't have to sort through the mess in there."

Pritchard groaned. "True. I'd have taken standing in the hallways and out in the rain keeping watch any day over sorting through _this_ mess." He made a vague hand gesture around the room.

Berwick looked at him. "Was it that bad?"

Pritchard nodded. "It was," he said with some feeling, though his eyes had a teasing glint to them.

Berwick looked thoughtful. "Remind me to say no if I'm ever asked to be the Commandant."

Crowley laughed. "Don't worry; there's little risk of that happening any time soon." Then he grew a bit more serious. "But I did mean it; we have work to do. Now that we are done dealing with Stilson, you three need to get back out there and help the others track down Morgarath's supporters, keep watch of Morgarath himself, and generally do the job of a Ranger. The barons got a lot of power and free rein under Morgarath's influence on the King and Ranger Corps; the non-tested Rangers have largely collaborated with the barons and done whatever they wanted them to in return for wealth and power in their fiefs. That needs to end. And of course, there is the matter of stamping out the rumours about Prince Duncan and making sure the people know the truth about Morgarath. The Rangers are still respected and our words hold a lot of power, so most people will believe it when we tell them the truth."

The others nodded, all mirth forgotten.

"Didn't you already sent out Halt, Leander, Berrigan and Jurgen to fight the rumours about Prince Duncan and spread the word of Morgarath's treachery?" Berwick asked.

Crowley nodded. "Yes, but all Rangers will need to do this to spread it to all of the country. Those were just sent to the northern fiefs where Tiller and his men raided."

"Any particular place you want us to start?" Egon asked.

"Go back to your home fiefs. Spread the truth along the way, and then work in the fiefs you came from along with those in the vicinity. We are too few Rangers to keep to just one fief now and will be for some time." He looked at Egon. "I hope you won't mind the extra riding and sleeping rough."

Egon smiled at him. "I'll manage though I was getting used to the nice bed here."

"No concern for me sleeping rough and having to ride a lot?" Pritchard said, pretending to be hurt by Crowley's lack of concern for his welfare.

Crowley shrugged. "Not really. I remember what it was like being your apprentice."

That caused the other two to laugh. Berwick slapped him on the shoulder. "You set yourself up for that one, Pritchard."

"Yes I did," he said a bit ruefully.

"I can't wait to kick out that fool, who thinks himself a Ranger," Egon said. "I trust we will get a document to do just that?" Berwick voiced his agreement with that sentiment.

Crowley nodded. "I've already prepared them for you and Berwick. I've also prepared letters for the non-Rangers in case they want to contest it."

Berwick raised an eyebrow. "You would let them stay?"

Crowley shook his head. "No, I simply don't want them hanging around and interfering with your work. The letter merely say that they can show up here at a certain date if they wish to contest the right to be a Ranger. It's all part of having this year's Gathering at Castle Araluen."

The others nodded their understanding. It made sense to give them a date in the near future to voice their complaints, because it meant time to stabilise things in the short run, and right now that was what they needed the most.

"What about me?" Pritchard asked. "It's been years since I had to leave."

"You get to be our wild card; we'll need someone going across the fiefs and the country, and you're it. You have plenty of experience and know how to handle any situation that may arise. I'd like you to check up on things at Gorlan Fief and Castle. Don't take the direct route to the castle, but check out how things are around the fief and see if you can find more evidence of Morgarath's betrayal and treachery. Find out if there's any weak points in his defences, too. I trust Baron Arald know what he's doing, but it never hurts to have another pair of eyes on it."

Pritchard nodded. He understood his mission perfectly well and looked forward to getting back at Morgarath. The man had much to answer for.

Crowley handed out the documents and letters they would each need and looked around at them. "Any other questions?"

They all shook their heads. They had their missions and looked forward to carrying them out.

"Very well, then get to it. We'll see each other again at the Gathering next month."

They stood up and said their goodbyes before making their way back to their temporary quarters. However much they had joked about the soft beds and warm rooms here at the castle, they all longed for the forest and the simple log cabin that was a Ranger's home, because that was where they felt truly at home.

An hour later Crowley stood looking out off his office window as the three Rangers rode off and left the castle behind, feeling a little lonely all of a sudden. He kept watch until they disappeared between the trees. Well, at least I'll see them again soon. He didn't know that one of them would not be returning to Araluen again or he would have spend longer saying goodbye.

With a sigh he went back to his desk, picked up a sheet of notes, and made his way toward the Regent's office for his daily meeting with Prince Duncan. This was his life now and he had better get used to it.

* * *

AN: This marks the end of this story, but I do not feel done with the Yearly Years timeline, so I expect to write more in it. I hope you have enjoyed the story. Please leave a review. Thanks for reading. :)


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